Comminuting apparatus



Sept. 3, 1968 F. OTTO COMMINUTING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1966 Inventor.- Fr: fz 191 6 J. l/nzw United States Patent "ice 3,399,704 COMMINUTING APPARATUS Fritz Otto, Hameln an der Weser, Germany, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Belder Trust, Reg. Vaduz, Liechtenstein Filed Mar. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 532,215

Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 11, 1965,

St 24,752 8 Claims. (Cl. 146-182) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A comminuting apparatus comprises two comminuting units each of which includes a rotary comminuting member, a material admitting inlet and an outlet, and a motor, the motors being superimposed and having horizontal output shafts facing in opposite directions. The comminuting units are mounted on a common support. Means is provided on the support for connecting at the will of the user the outlet of at least one of the units with the inlet of the other of the units so as to make it possible to comminute the material in one of the units alone, in the other of the units alone, in both units simultaneously or first in one and thereupon in the other of the units.

The present invention relates to comminuting apparatus in general, and more particularly to improvements in motor-driven apparatus for mincing meat and similar materials or substances.

Motor-driven mincing apparatus are known for many years. Such apparatus are normally classified according to the fineness of the comminuting action, according to the shape of their inlets, according to themounting of drive shafts, and/ or according to the type of comminuting tools and nature of various accessories for clamping the apparatus on a support, for agitating the material, for removing comminuted material and others.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a very simple, compact, highly versatile and rugged multi-stage or multiplex mincing apparatus wherein raw or cooked meat may be minced in a series of consecutive or simultaneous operation, wherein a given batch of material may be subjected to two or more identical or different comminuting actions, and wherein all such parts which require frequent inspection and/or cleaning are readily accessible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a readily transferrable mincing machine of the above outlined characteristics which may be utilized with equal advantage for processing of relatively small or very large quantities of meat or the like.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a mincing apparatus which occupies little floor space, not only in storage but also when in actual use, and wherein the output of one mincing stage may be automatically delivered to the other mincing stage or stages.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement of drives for the individual stages of the above outlined mincing apparatus.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a mincing apparatus which can be readily manipulated by semi-skilled persons.

Briefly stated, one feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a comminuting or mincing apparatus which may be used for mincing of raw or cooked meat and similar materials. The apparatus comprises a support which preferably includes a wheel-mounted platform or base, a pair of superimposed motors mounted on the support and having horizontal output shafts facing in opposite directions, and a pair of mincing units or aggre- Patented Sept. 3, 1968 gates each including a rotary comminuting member driven by one of the output shafts, a material admitting inlet, and an outlet.

One of the two mincing units is preferably a coarse mincing unit and the other unit is a fine mincing unit. The outlet of the coarse mincing unit (which is preferably located at a lower level) may be connected wit-h the inlet of the fine mincing unit, and the outlet of the fine mincing unit may be moved to and from a position in which it discharges into the inlet of the coarse mincing unit. This enables the person in charge to repeat the comminuting operation as often as desired. The output of the one mincing unit may be different from the output of the other mincing unit so that the apparatus can build up a supply of coarsely or finely minced material. Each of the two motors may be driven independently of or simultaneously with the other motor, and at least one of the motors may be of the variable-speed type. As compared to the total output, relatively small inrush currents are achieved by the possibility of starting both motors successively.

The novel features which are considered as.characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved mincing apparatus itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detail description of a specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic side elevational view of a mincing apparatus which embodies the invention, a portion of the shell or casing which accommodates the motors being broken away;

FIG. la is an enlarged fragmentary section through the right-hand mincing unit;

FIG. 1b is a similar enlarged fragmentary section through the left-hand mincing unit; and

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a twostage comminuting or mincing apparatus which comprises a support 1 including a platform 1a mounted on wheels 1b and provided with a handle bar 10 to facilitate convenient transportation from storage to one or more 10- cales of use and vice versa. The platform 1a supports a shell or casing 2 which accommodates two superimposed electric motors 3, 4 having output shafts 5, 6 respectively (see FIGS. 1a and 1b). These output shafts are parallel to each other and face in opposite directions. The upper output shaft 6 transmits motion to the rotary comminuting member 12 of a fine mincing unit or aggregate A, and the member 12 cooperates with a second comminuting member 11 which is mounted in the housing 20 of the unit A. The exact construction of the comminuting members forms no part of the present invention. An inlet or hopper 14 of the unit A is connected with the housing 20 by means of a vertical hinge 21 shown in FIG. 1 so that it may be swung to and from the closed or operative position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. When moved to open position, the hopper 14 exposed and affords convenient access to the actual comminuting mechanism of the unit A. In addition, the hopper 14 preferably consists of two superimposed sections 14a, 14b which are formed with abutting flanges 14c connected by bolts or similar fasteners, not shOWn. In this way, the hopper 14 may be taken apart and is also pivotable with reference to the housing 20. If desired, the sections 14a, 14b may be hingedly connected to each other.

The output shaft 5 of the lower motor 3 operates a coarse mincing unit or aggregate B which is shown in FIG. 1b. This unit B again comprises a rotary comminuting member 10 which is driven by the output shaft 5 and cooperates with a second comminuting member 9 mounted in a housing 22. The hopper or inlet 13 of the unit B is constructed and mounted in the same way as the hopper 14. FIG. 1b shows a releasable locking device 23 which couples the lower section 1312 of the hopper 13 to the housing 22 when the hopper 13 is moved to its operative or closed position.

The output shafts 5, 6 respectively drive feed screws 7, 8 which serve to advance the material from the hoppers 13, 14 into the range of teeth on the comminuting members 910 and 1112, respectively. The feed screws 7, 8 are coaxial with the respective output shafts.

In accordance with a feature of the present invention, the outlet of the coarse mincing unit B comprises a conduit 15 which is connected to the discharge opening 22a of the lower housing 22 and is also connected with or connectable to the hopper 14 so that the material which has been treated by the comminuting members 9, 10 of the unit B can be further minced by the comminuting members 11, 12. The outlet of the fine mincing unit A comprises a second conduit 16 which is connected with the discharge opening 20a of the housing 20 and whose free end may be moved to a position above the hopper 13 or to the position shown in FIG. 2 in which the conduit 16 discharges finely minced meat into a suitable receptacle or the like. The motors 3, 4 are controlled by suitable switches (not shown) installed on a control panel 2a which is mounted on the casing 2. These motors may be operated simultaneously or independently of each other. The arrangement is preferably such that the output of one of the units A, B exceeds the output of the other unit so that the apparatus can build up a reserve or stock of coarsely or finely comminuted meat. One of the mincing units may operate continuously while the other unit operates intermittently, but it is equally possible to operate both units either continuously or intermittently.

If desired, the conduit 15 may be detached from the hopper 14 so that the output of the coarse mincing unit B may be discharged into a second receptacle rather than into the fine mincing unit. Such detachability of the conduit 15 from the hopper 14 is desirable if each of the units A, B is to comminute a different type of meat, for example, raw meat and cooked meat. Also, it is often desirable to subject a certain batch of meat to a single coarse or to a single fine mincing action. In such instances, the motor 3 or 4 is idle and the other motor drives the corresponding unit A or B for a desired period of time. The motors may be of the variable-speed type so that the output of each unit may be varied and that the hopper 13 or 14 can accumulate a supply of minced meat.

If the apparatus is to subject meat or the like to an exceptionally fine comminuting action, a batch is fed into the hopper 13 and is treated in the unit B to be fed through the conduit 15 and into the hopper 14 prior to treatment in the fine mincing unit A. The output of the unit A is then fed through the conduit 16 and back into the hopper 13 to be subjected to a second coarse and to a second fine comminuting action. The same procedure can be repeated again and again as often as desired, i.e., until the ultimate product is of desired consistency.

The apparatus may be readily transported to and from different locales of use. The comminuting members 9-12 and the screws 7-8 are readily accessible in response to separation of the hopper sections 13a, 13b or 14a, 14b and/ or in response to pivotal movement of hoppers 13, 14 with reference to the housings 20, 22. This enables the operator to rapidly remove and/or clean all such parts which come in actual contact with meat.

For example, each of the motors 3, 4 may have an output of -60 HF. and the apparatus may be constructed to turn out between 3,500 and 7,000 kg. of minced meat per hour. The overall height of the apparatus may be less than four feet and the hoppers 13, 14 may be less than three feet. Such apparatus has been found to be particularly suited for use in mediumand large-size meat processing plants. Since the two mincing units are driven by separate motors, the operation of the apparatus is very economical because one of the motors can be arrested when a batch of meat must be treated in the other unit.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific as ects of the above-described contribution to the art of mincing apparatus and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for mincing meat and similar materials, comprising support means; a pair of motors mounted on said support means and each having an output shaft; a coarse mincing unit and a fine mincing unit each having a rotary comminuting member driven by one of said shafts, a housing surrounding the respective comminuting member, a material-admitting inlet comprising a hopper, and an outlet, at least one such hopper being movable with reference to the respective housing; and means associated with the respective mincing units and being operative for connecting at the will of a user the outlet of one of said units with the inlet of the other of said units and further being operative for connecting the outlet of said other unit with the inlet of said one unit, so that at the will of the user material can be comminuted in either of said units or successively in both of said units.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said support means comprises a wheel-mounted platform.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of said units further comprises a feed screw mounted in the housing and driven by the respective output shaft to advance the material from the respective inlet to the corresponding comminuting member.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of said hoppers is hinged to the respective housing.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fine mincing unit is located at a level above said coarse mincing unit.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a casing for said motors, each of said outlets comprising a conduit movable to and from a position in which it discharges material into the inlet of the respective other unit.

7. An apparatus for comminuting meat and similar materials, comprising a support; two vertically superposed drive means mounted on said support; a coarse communiting unit and a fine comminuting unit each having a rotary comminuting member connected to one of said drive means and each located substantially on the level of the associated drive means; a material-admitting hopper on each of said uints; outlet means for the comminuted material provided on each of said units; conduit means adapted to connect said outlet means of said coarse comminuting unit with said hopper of said fine comminuting unit; and a substantially horizontally extending rigid outlet tube connected at one end to said outlet means of said fine comminuting unit and being turnable substantially in a horizontal plane about said one end thereof, said outlet tube having a length greater than the distance between said outlet of said fine comminuting unit and said hopper of said coarse comminuting unit so as to be turnable between a first position in which the other end of said outlet tube is located above said hopper of said coarse comminuting unit and a second position in which said other end of said outlet tube is located spaced from said hopper so that material, after having passed through said fine comminuting unit, might either be introduced into said hopper of said coarse comminuting unit or finally discharged from said apparatus.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein said conduit means is a rigid outlet conduit having one end connected to said outlet means of said coarse comminut- 5 6 ing unit, and a free other end, said outlet conduit being constructed and arranged for movement between two f r nc s Clted positions in one of which said free end communicates UNITED STATES PATENTS with said hopper of said fine comminuting inlet and an other position in which said free end is located spaced 5 from said hopper of said fine comminuting unit so that material, after having passed through said coarse com- IGN PATENTS minuting unit, may either be introduced into said hopper 343 71 1950 Great Britain of said fine comminuting unit or be finally discharged from said apparatus. 10 W. GRAYDON ABERCROMBIE, Primary Examiner. 

